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GiveCentral new fundraising partner Christian Brothers Services

Fundraising Partner : GiveCentral with Christian Brothers Services

Jeff Kirchner Leave a comment

GiveCentral is proud to announce its new fundraising partner – Christian Brothers Services (CBS).

Christian Brothers Services is a nonprofit, Catholic organization that administers cooperative programs in the areas of health, retirement, property/casualty, information and technology services, Catholic School Management and consulting. We are particularly excited to promote CBS’ parish and school web templates, which will help our client organizations improve their web presences and online giving practices.

“This agreement marks an exciting collaboration between both companies to better serve our Catholic client base by providing expanded and enhanced services.”

Patrick Coleman, President and CEO

As fundraising partners, GiveCentral and CBS will be able to provide members and clients “with a unique, multi-faceted set of offerings,” said Brother Michael Quirk, FSC, Ed.D., president and CEO of Christian Brothers Services. “By joining forces we are able to leverage both groups’ expertise for our members.”

You may view our official press release here.

Advent

A Parish Plan for Advent

Stacey Kiran Leave a comment

This liturgical season is an occasion for many to revisit their faith. Throughout your Advent services, and especially on Christmas, it is important to reach out to the parishioners you see less often. Along with Easter, this is one of the best times to rekindle a person’s relationship with the Church.Not coincidentally, this is also the time to prepare for fundraising success in 2016.

Let GiveCentral help you with your Advent plan

  1. Welcome Them Home

    Let returning parishioners know that you’re glad to see them, and hope they’ll be around more during the rest of the year. Address them during announcements at Mass, if not during the homily.

  2. Get in Touch

    Ask everyone to provide their latest contact information (especially email addresses), so they won’t be left out of important announcements. Many parishes choose to provide paper slips to be handed in with the offertory.Even faster, ask everyone to text you their contact information all at once. That’s right, texting during Mass! GiveCentral can help you do this for free—contact us to learn more.

  1. Ask for a Commitment

    Don’t be shy—ask everyone to commit to making a regular gift to your church. For those who have been out of touch lately, this is a great way to begin reconnecting while they are in the pew.

  2. Sign Them Up

    Place GiveCentral signup forms in the pews, and ask parishioners to fill them out and drop them in the offertory basket. By completing a card during Mass, parishioners can give you all the information to automate their weekly or monthly giving.

  1. Stay in Touch

    Use your improved email address list to start reaching out to your parish community. Start with a message thanking everyone for participating in the Advent liturgy, and continue with a new message at least once per month. Use GiveCentral’s free email templates as a starting point, and customize them however you like.

A group of parishioners in gloves and aprons, preparing food for a charitable dinner

Great Things are Happening! The Value of a Hands-On Approach

Patrick Coleman 1 Comment

I get a great deal of pleasure and fulfillment sharing the success stories of our clients, and I’ve started to document some of the more notable successes I’m seeing in a series I’m calling “Great Things are Happening!”Recently, I shared the story of Fr. Wayne Watts and St. John Berchmans parish in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, and how the two C’s of Communication and Community had such wonderful, positive impact on their fundraising efforts.

Today’s Great Things are Happening! success story is all about the value of a hands-on approach with members. Not just to help in fundraising efforts, but also because caring for each other is so important to our community’s health and happiness.

St. Teresa of Avila in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood recently enjoyed over 200 percent growth in their donor base, and it was due in no small part to a message of caring.

Case study: growth in giving and donors, year over year, at St. Teresa of Avila
A hands-on approach helped the church grow in online donations, number of donors, and Sunday Offertory from one year to the next.

Rebecca O’Brien, who heads up stewardship for St. Teresa, had realized the church would benefit from growing donor base, and that to do it, they needed to take a very personal approach to helping parishioners learn and understand how to use the GiveCentral online donation platform.

Fortunately, GiveCentral is remarkably easy to use. Still, for some, the leap from offering plate to the digital world can feel daunting without a little love and attention, which is exactly what St. Teresa gave.They went “all-in” as I like to say, offering assistance on how to register in the system, get payment information uploaded, create a donor profile, and set up giving preferences.

Meanwhile, the church stayed in near constant communications with donors new to the system, making them feel at ease, and demonstrating the benefits of how much more connected to the church parishioners feel when using the online giving platform.And the results bear witness to the success of their efforts.

Over 30 new donors were registered in the first week of the push, and ultimately, their Sunday Offertory increased by an amazing 433 percent!We can talk about the importance of online giving platforms in increasing donor contributions, and there’s no doubt GiveCentral played a role in this success, however the kind of care and attention the leadership at St. Teresa gave to their drive is the real meat on the bone in this success, and it makes me proud to have them as a partner.

I believe that no matter who we are, we are lifetime learners, and a few insights here and there about why we succeed can go a long way.

Download a case study of this great success story here.

Online Giving

Online Giving: Why Haven’t Churches Made the Switch?

Jordan Good Leave a comment

Online giving has been on a significant upswing in just the past five years, but churches are lagging behind. A recent Dunham + Company/Campbell Rinker survey shows that while 70 percent of nonprofit organizations offer opportunities to donate online, just 42 percent of churches give their parishioners that chance. That number is even lower for small churches (under 200 attendees), at only 29 percent.As an example of how online giving has grown for nonprofits, just under half (48 percent) of donors had given through a charity’s website in 2010. Today, 60 percent say they have given an online gift. That’s incredible growth that should catch the attention of any stewardship director, so what is it that churches aren’t seeing about the benefits of online giving?In my time working at a church as well as here at GiveCentral, I’ve heard more than a few arguments against making the switch to online giving. The thing is, it’s not a switch at all! Offering an online giving option to your parishioners lets them choose one more way they can give.Here are a few more commonly-heard arguments, and why I don’t think they hold water:

Argument 1:

We’ve always done things this way, it’s hard to make a change

The church is the cornerstone of the community, and it’s been a presence in our lives for as long as we can remember. But when was the last time your church made a change in the way they do things? We understand that there’s a lot of tradition in the church and you know what works best. However, as you notice your offertory on the decline or less participation in your ministries, perhaps it’s time to take a look at how your community is changing and adapt with them.

Argument 2:

Our older donors don’t understand computers, they don’t want to give online

Your older donors may not agree with your assessment of their abilities. Back in 2010, 29 percent of those 65 and older said they’d made a charitable donation online. Today, that number has grown to 59 percent, on par with younger donors. And boomers are a vibrant and generous demographic, and they’re not about to let new technology stand in the way of supporting the causes they love.

Argument 3:

We don’t have to be online, we see our donors every week

But do you want to be asking people for donations every week? Can your appeal compete with the socializing happening in the entryway, the family discussion in the parking lot, the rush to get to brunch, or the bustle to get a cranky child home? With online giving, donors can set up recurring gifts and pledges whenever they have a free moment, right from home. Those gifts can be scheduled and automatically deducted with ease, granting your parishioners (and your staff!) a few more minutes of precious free time.

Churches simply must respond to changes in their attendees’ preferences. People of all ages are becoming more and more comfortable in the online world, whether for socializing, shopping, reading, and more. Why not meet your donors where they’re already spending their time? See how GiveCentral can help.

Great things are happening at St. John Berchmans

Great Things are Happening! A Case Study

Patrick Coleman Leave a comment

Since his first day as pastor of St. John Berchmans Parish in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, Fr. Wayne Watts’ motto has been: “Great things are happening at St. John Berchmans!“

From the beginning, Fr. Watts has focused on communication and community to celebrate a shared faith life. He is what I call “respectfully relentless” in his use of personal visits, phone calls, email and even Twitter to regularly engage with parish members in a very meaningful way.

In addition to regular bulletin articles, the church sends monthly emails to their faith community, and Fr. Watts personally sends regular messages on social media letting the community know about how the people of their parish are working together to help each other.The impact has been amazing. Today, both the parish and school are thriving.

Mass attendance and school enrolment continue to increase. And Fr. Watts’ communication has had a significant effect on giving: In 2010, the first year the church began using the GiveCentral online communication and giving platform, they were receiving an average of $5,000 per month in online donations. Today, the church processes an average of $22,000 online each month, an increase of 440%.Case study: giving growth, year over year, at St. John BerchmansFr. Watts and his church understand that parishioners want to have an ongoing dialog, and that they are more fulfilled when they see leaders like Fr. Watts initiating and maintaining those communications.

And more engaged members are almost always more loyal donors. In fact, Joe D’Arco, the parish’s Director of Operations, has found that community members and school families now give more year-round, preventing the normal dips in giving caused by summer vacations, school breaks, and homebound parishioners who can’t always drop an envelope in the basket each Sunday.

It began with reaching out to build community and monthly email communication. “Great things are happening at St. John Berchmans.” Fr. Watts and his team have done an amazing job that can help us see the possibility for all our parishes and schools.

Download a summary case study of this great success story here.

asking for donations

Storytelling and Transparency Encourage Giving

Stacey Kiran Leave a comment

Consistent, regular donations help fuel your church and its mission, but asking for money can be uncomfortable and even intimidating. Your confidence in making the ask can be boosted by one simple technique: transparency.

Through our experiences and best practices, we have compiled four simple Steps to Success for being transparent with parishioners to help you receive the offertory your church needs to grow and thrive.

1. Tell Them Why

The most important part of transparency is telling your donors how their gifts are being used. People can be hesitant to donate their hard earned money if they don’t know what that gift is going towards.

How can you do this most effectively? There are plenty of ways to demonstrate your need for the money necessary to keep your organization operating, many of which can be tailored to your audience. Examples include:

  1. Putting together a complete list of expenses and make it readily available. Depending on your circumstances, you can keep an updated list on your website, in your bulletin, or anywhere you know your parishioners will see it.
  2. Highlighting one expense per month on which to focus your fundraising efforts.  Tackling expenses one at a time helps keep folks from getting overwhelmed and draws attention to individual, tangible needs.
  3. Placing GiveCentral enrollment forms (or instructions on how to register online) in frequently-used spaces and places where people naturally congregate to chat after Mass.

Through our experience at GiveCentral, we have witnessed a variety of ways to showcase the funds needed to keep church doors open. Check out our list of Giving Ideas for some additional inspiration.

2. Ask for Donations

Now that you have told your donors why you need the money, it’s time to ask for donations. To some this may feel a bit uncomfortable, but by maintaining a level of transparency about what the funds are going towards it will become easier to show parishioners why they want to give. Explain why their donations are so important to your ongoing mission and day-to-day operations, and consider trying some of our Giving Ideas as new ways to ask for donations.

When you are asking for new donations, be sure to share specific details about your initiatives. Who will they help? What support systems will be put in place? How will your efforts make an impact on the community? Research has shown that when you can demonstrate a donor’s personal connection to a cause, the more likely they are to say “yes” to supporting that cause.

One way to make asking for donations easier is to spread out the work.  People say that friends and family hold the most influence over where they donate their time and money, so tap into your community for vocal supporters and ask them if they are willing to help advocate on your behalf. These trustworthy messengers can boost the transparency of your message by speaking authentically and impartially about the good work you do.

3. Say Thank You

Immediately after receiving a donation, sending a letter of thanks is a must that shows them your appreciation and acknowledges their support. GiveCentral’s receipts are automatically sent after each donation is made, and they do say “Thank You,” but a personal message from you makes all the difference.

And of course, the first letter of thanks should not be the only one. Every few months, thank your donors again. Whether it be via email, letter, card or phone call, get in touch with them just to say thanks for their generosity and for their participation in your activities. This is a great opportunity to tell them (perhaps again) how much their donations have helped your organization accomplish. And remember, this shouldn’t be used as a platform to ask them to give again but simply an acknowledgement of your gratitude.

4. Provide Updates

While you’ve already told your donors where the money is going, it’s just as important that they see their gifts put to use. This is truly transparency in action: you asked them for a gift, told them what you would use it for, and are now ready to show them the results.

For example, if they were donating to make repairs to the church, consider how you will send updates on the status of those repairs. If they donated to help fund church groups, have members of the group speak about the impact of donations or write a note to include in your newsletter. Seeing the outcome of their donations will make people feel more comfortable donating again as well as form a connection between your parish, their donation, and the fantastic results.

GiveCentral offers tools and support to help you send email updates, which help keep donors up-to-date on the initiatives they are helping to support. Learn more about our communication portal here, or participate in our discussion community.

fundraising training

Announcing New Parish Training for Holiday Fundraising Success

Stacey Kiran Leave a comment

Did you know some parishes now receive up to 60 percent of donations online?

Research shows that churches lag behind in offering online giving as an option, so we’re inviting leaders in Catholic stewardship to learn how. We know your focus is to fulfill your parish’s mission and we think GiveCentral can help by making fundraising easier and more productive.Our upcoming Christmas Giving Series helps parishes learn how to increase donations with the use of GiveCentral.

How do we help? Let me share an example:

This past April, GiveCentral helped numerous parishes dramatically increase Sunday giving, generating over $100,000 in additional donations – and all it took was a little training from us.GiveCentral guided the participating parishes every step of the way, from initial training to identifying and reaching out to donors who had not previously given during the Easter season.By sending just a single email, this small select group of participating parishes saw an increase of 323 percent in online Easter donations.

Because of this success, we have decided to expand our training program. We have extended an invitation to select parishes to participate in our upcoming 2015 Christmas Giving training series. Check your inbox (or your mailbox) for your invitation!We can support up to 100 parishes in this training class, coming together remotely via webinars, conference calls and email. Through this pilot program, the participating parishes will be trained on how to dramatically increase Christmas donations by:

  • Effectively collecting email addresses of donors
  • Implementing simple, multi-phased email communication techniques
  • Incorporating seasonal donor gift giving strategies

Our next class will start in just a few weeks. We can only accommodate 100 parishes in our kickoff training, which begins on September 17th.

Are you interested in joining an online training series like this one?

GiveCentral exists to help parishes like yours fulfill their missions and we would be honored to help you increase your Christmas donations this season.To express your interest in this FREE training series, just click here before September 15th to see if we can fit you in.

Charitable Giving

Would You Like a Larger Slice of the Charitable Giving Pie?

GiveCentral Leave a comment

Giving Grows, but Religious Donations Still Slide

Great news for nonprofits was just released this week: donations grew in 2014! According to Giving USA, charitable giving in the United States increased by 7.1 percent overall, rising to $358 billion. This is even higher than the amount projected in 2013 and a level of giving unseen since before the Great Recession. Individual contributions made up 72 percent of the increase, so you can tell that people are feeling generous.

ALSO READ: Charitable Giving On the Rise for Second Consecutive Year

Religious Donations

Another encouraging discovery: the ongoing upswing in charitable giving increased by 5.4 percent in 2014, far outpacing the five-year average growth rate of 3.4 percent.And once again, religious organizations received the largest share of charitable dollars (32 percent) and the estimated amount contributed to religion reached its highest value ever. The downside? As a percentage of charitable giving, religious donations remain in a 30-year slide. Dropping from 54 percent in 1987 to 32 percent today, religion is claiming an ever-shrinking piece of the charitable pie.So what is a faith-based nonprofit to do?First, be aware that there is ever-growing competition for your donors’ time, attention, and generosity.Excellent causes abound, and they’re all asking for the same dollars you are. Don’t let this discourage you from telling your story, but get comfortable with the idea that you might not be a donor’s top priority on a given day (and try again later, of course).Second, give your donors a reason to notice you and not the other guy.Inboxes are filled with tempting offers, social media is chock-a-block with interesting links, and other demands for attention are almost literally everywhere you can imagine. Consider what you are doing differently to stand out, and highlight what makes your cause unique.Third, follow up graciously.A thank-you note is certainly in order for every donation, but stories of what-happened-next speak to both donors and prospects alike. Demonstrating the good work that you do encourages potential donors to support your efforts and makes current donors consider giving more.The findings from the 2015 Giving USA report are encouraging, but this news is only the whipped cream on our delicious pie. Don’t eat your slice and assume more is always on the way! Many ingredients are needed and we’ve got to keep doing the work that mixes them all together.To learn how GiveCentral has helped hundreds of organizations find the right mix, just ask! Sign up for a webinar or contact us here

Fundraising Success

Are You Integrating Your Giving Options?

Jordan Good Leave a comment

Why Integrating Offline and Online Giving Will Be Key to Your Fundraising Success

The evolving role of offline and online giving and how it affects your mission

by Jordan GoodWe’re living in a time of nearly unparalleled technical innovation. Software and devices that would have seemed unthinkable 5 or 10 years ago are now essential parts of our daily lives. At the forefront of innovation is the Internet. Who would have thought so much of our lives would be intertwined with cloud-based services, websites and software? For nonprofit organizations, technical innovation in software and technical solutions is revolutionizing how we operate, and integrating new technologies into your existing giving programs is crucial.Is online giving a part of your organization’s fundraising strategy? In our 2015 survey report: Predictions for Nonprofit Giving, 48% of respondents received online donations, while 58% received paper check donations. As more donors look for ways to simplify giving and make tracking their donations easier, online giving will become less of a convenience and more of a necessity for nonprofit organizations. Here are just a few of the ways integrating your offline and online giving will be essential to your fundraising success:

  1. It will save you considerable time (so you can focus on your mission). I used to work for a church, and I know that often times there are multiple systems for managing payments —one for automated clearing house (ACH), one for checks and cash, one for credit cards…you get the idea. With integrated giving solutions such as GiveCentral, your organization can manage all of these giving options in one place. Plus, it will save all data about your donors in one place—perhaps a donor makes a cash donation at one event, but makes a credit card donation for your annual giving campaign. All donation records are saved and available in one place.You save time by not having to enter data into multiple systems, or not having to pull and compare that data at tax time or to reconcile accounting. With the security and capabilities of integrated giving solutions like GiveCentral, the process becomes so much simpler, your staff or volunteers are able to focus their time on more mission-critical tasks.
  2. It can help you provide better service to your donors. When all of your donation data is in one place, running reports or sending donor communications is made much Today, donors want and expect to see detailed reporting on their giving, especially at tax time. When they receive one, simple and easy-to-understand communication without any mistakes, they’re able to easily take that document for their tax preparation. You make your donors’ lives easier, and make it easier to give in the future. Plus, by leaving a positive impression with donors, they’re more likely to spread the word about your organization to their family and friends.
  3. It will make “now” easier, while preparing you for the future. When was the last time you wrote a check at the grocery store? Have you noticed you carry less cash and are using a credit card more often? This is the shift that’s happening across the US today—people are using traditional payment methods like cash and checks less, and are leaning more toward credit cards, online and mobile giving. Entering accounting data into two, three or even four systems for all these giving methods takes time and can lead to errors.With GiveCentral, you enter data for all donations in one place, and once a donor record is set up, that donor is tracked for all donations and communication. You won’t have to integrate data across systems or spreadsheets in order to pull accurate reports— all the information you need is in one system (plus, using one system like GiveCentral versus multiple systems for each reduces costs, saving time and making accounting easier). Accounting right now becomes simpler by integrating your offline and online giving. And when the inevitable happens—people simply stop using cash and checks to donate—you’ll have the infrastructure in place to not miss a beat.Your donors will be happy because they can continue giving in the way that’s most convenient for them, and your employees and volunteers will be happy that they don’t have to change how they input and manage donations. Everyone is happier, and you have more time and energy to focus on your mission.

I love helping nonprofit organizations with GiveCentral. I get to see firsthand how it helps them operate more efficiently, save money and have more time to focus on mission-critical tasks.Time Savings in ActionOne organization had an employee who spent a significant amount of time processing donations—she was regularly processing more than 100 checks at a time. Manually inputting that data was incredibly time consuming—she reported that literally half of her time was spent on just this one task. GiveCentral can scan checks and automatically input the data into your records. And for repeat donors, the system will automatically recognize when a check comes from that same person, reducing time even further so you don’t have to re-enter their information. The system automatically adds the latest donation to their profile. When the leader of this organization realized they could free up half of an employee’s time to work on more mission-critical tasks, their eyes lit up. Just this one functionality of an integrated offline and online giving solution changed their operations dramatically. Yet there really is so much more.Our website provides many resources and information, or you can call me directly at (312) 929-2306. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have or help you understand how integrating your offline and online giving will boost your fundraising efforts.

GiveCentral Go Mobile App Donation

How Mobile Donations are Transforming the Giving Industry

Stacey Kiran Leave a comment

by Stacey Kiran

Giving is evolving – and mobile is at the forefront

Now that we’re in 2015, it’s getting hard to remember a time before mobile phones. Odds are you might even be reading this blog post on a mobile device. Mobile donations refers to donating to an organization through a mobile device.

According to Pew Research, 90% of American adults own a mobile phone.That’s pretty incredible.We’re performing tasks on our devices that we wouldn’t have dreamed of performing just five years ago. But these ubiquitous devices have become our go-to choice for quick, convenient transactions.

Mobile donations could unlock huge potential in the market for small and big organizations. We recently wrapped up our 2015 Nonprofit Giving Survey Report with predictions for nonprofit giving. In it, participating organizations spoke loudly—they are ready for mobile. Right now only 6 percent receive mobile donations, but 23 percent are able to measure mobile payment processing and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) would embrace real-time donor transactions.In that same survey report, 84 percent of respondents believe their staff generally embraces technology change. You’re ready to start accepting mobile donations, now it’s just time to start. Here are three ways mobile is poised to transform donor giving and make a real impact on your organization:

  1. Mobile giving can actually reduce overhead. New technology doesn’t always have to be expensive. In fact, mobile giving can be one of the most cost efficient methods. With our GiveCentral tool, 98 to 99 percent of the donations go directly to the charity, with donated funds automatically debited from donor accounts. That’s an 8 to 9 percent increase in funds direct to charity versus the traditional mobile giving model.
  1. Mobile giving makes it easy to give. Donors (new and existing) are on their mobile devices, but they’re also on social media, they’re at home on the phones, they’re reading their email. The point of mobile giving isn’t that it’s replacing traditional giving methods, but that it’s ensuring you are where your donors want you to be. It’s an “and” world right now, not an “or” world—be everywhere your donors are, and they’re more likely to give. Mobile can also enable you to stay more connected to donors. On average, recurring donors give 42 percent more per year than one-time donors. Your donors are on their mobile phones—stay with them.
  1. Mobile makes it easy to receive. Without a doubt, enabling mobile giving will make it easier for your donors to give, and (hopefully) give often. But it can also make receiving significantly easier for your organization. GiveCentral Go is revolutionizing how organizations accept credit card donations during events. For example, auctions and other nonprofit events can be massive affairs—months or years of planning come down to a perfectly execution. GiveCentral Go provides a simple, quick interface for giving at your events, plus a simple system for receiving and processing donations. Your smartphone serves as the hub with encrypted transactions sent securely from your device and synced to your GiveCentral account. Receipts are automatically emailed to donors.

Want to learn how mobile giving can fit into your organization? Email me directly at stacey@givecentral.org and we’ll walk through it together.